Summer of Frost (14 page)

I wasn’t happy with what I said to him, and
I’d never torture someone’s family in their dreams. Being cruel
like that was never something I did, even to people that deserved
it, but I had to use a scare tactic with him.

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked at Brokk
impassively. “I’m the daughter of the Ice Queen. What did you
expect … flowers and bunnies? This is the last time we’re going to
ask before I start the real fun. Will you answer my questions or
not?” I asked.

His silence was answer enough, so I backed
up and sighed. “Okay, I guess it’s time to put your lights out.
Goodnight, little dwarf, I’ll see you soon.”

The warriors stationed around Brokk slowly
started moving in. Hands were raised and fists were about to fly.
Before the first hit could make its way, Brokk yelled out in
defeat. “Stop! I’ll talk. I promise I’ll talk, just tell them to
back up!”

The warriors stepped aside while I smiled
smugly at Brokk. “I’m glad you could see reason. All right, first
question. Where is the dark sorcerer?”

Releasing a heavy breath, Brokk answered,
“He’s in the mortal realm.”
Truth
.

“Why?” I countered.

“Because he wants to recruit mortals since
they can wield iron.”
Truth
.

Angry cries and shouts erupted throughout
the room, and this time Drake spoke. “He can’t bring mortals here.
Their weapons could endanger us all.”

Brokk nodded. “That’s one of his plans.”
Truth
.

“Why did you turn on your people?” I
asked.

Durin moved closer to hear the answer,
looking wary in the process. Brokk noticed, but turned his eyes
downward when he revealed his confession. “My wife thought I was
weak. When I almost drowned she thought it was a pathetic way to
die. She wanted me to redeem myself and our family name of its
embarrassment. I had no clue how to do that without power. I was a
nobody in the ranks, just a simple messenger.”
Truth
.

Both Durin and I deflated hearing Brokk’s
admission. It was raw and hurtful, and I could feel the pain coming
off of him. As much as I pitied him, he still shouldn’t have turned
to the dark sorcerer. That was the wrong choice. “I’m sorry about
that,” I admitted, meaning every word. “No man should have to hear
that from his wife, especially after you went through your ordeal,
but it doesn’t make what you did right. Once you leave here you’ll
be in Durin’s possession, but if you answer my next questions
truthfully you’ll be redeemed by the Winter Court.”

Defeated, Brokk sighed and hung his head.
“What else do you need to know?”

“Where is the sacred scroll?” I asked.

Terrified, he glanced up quickly. “How do
you know about that?” When I didn’t answer, he groaned and
explained, “The scroll is hidden at the highest peak in the Endelyn
Mountains. No one can travel there by foot so the dark sorcerer
thought it best to hide it there. It’s hidden inside a wooden box,
and buried under a pile of rocks. With your powers you’ll be able
to sense its location.”
Truth
.

Narrowing my eyes, I searched his face.
There was something he wasn’t telling us. It couldn’t be that easy
to get the scroll. “What else, Brokk? What’s the catch? It can’t be
that easy.”

“It’s not,” he confessed. “The box it’s in
is surrounded by magic. It takes great power to open it, and so far
the only ones powerful enough to do that are one of the Four … you.
Your blood will open it.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll be the one
searching for the box,” I said.

“You can’t fly. There’s no way you can get
there.”

“That’s why she’ll have me,” Drake piped in,
coming to my side. “I’ll get her there safely.” He wrapped his arm
around my shoulder and squeezed. “We can add it to our list of
adventures.”

“That’s sweet, but you’re missing the
point,” Brokk said dryly. “When the princess gives her blood to
open the box that magic she gives will go straight to the dark
sorcerer. You see, the magic surrounding the box is connected to
the talisman. He
will
get her power if you do this, which
means he’ll be one step closer to being the most powerful being in
this realm.”

Silence filled the room as the information
of what he just said soaked in. No one moved and not a sound came
from any of them, but I could see the mixture of expressions on
their faces. Some wanted the scroll while others didn’t want the
dark sorcerer getting any closer to being invincible. I had no
choice,
we
had no choice. If I didn’t give up my power we’d
never know how to defeat the dark sorcerer.

“You can’t do this, Sorcha,” Drake demanded
fiercely. “We’ll figure out another way.”

Sadly, I knew there wasn’t. “There is no
other way. I have to do this, and you’re coming with me.”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?”

Leaning forward, I kissed him on the lips
and smiled. “It’s because I was made to keep you on your toes, and
vice versa.”

He gave in and laughed. “You’re damn right,
and don’t you forget it.”

“How could I?” I quipped happily.

Now that the truth was spilled, Durin took
Brokk and they left the Summer Court to head back to Endelyn, their
home. I didn’t know what punishment Durin had planned for Brokk,
and it wasn’t my place to ask, so I didn’t. The dwarves had their
own form of punishment.

Now that the meeting was over, Drake
escorted me to my room after asking Oren if he wouldn’t mind if he
did so, alone. At my nod, Oren left and went to his chamber. When
we got to my room, Drake turned to face me and took both of my
hands in his.

“Stay with me tonight,” he whispered softly.
The need in his voice, plus the magnetic pull drawing me closer to
him, had me flush with his body and breathing in his glorious
scent. He smelled of Summer, of a time spent dancing in the sun and
also the exotic scent of the ferocity below his skin.

“Where? At your place or here in my room?” I
asked. His steely gray eyes were serious and full of longing. Ever
since I’d been in contact with him it’s been one problem after
another. We hadn’t had any alone time just to be with each other.
With everything going on, I hadn’t realized how much I craved
it.

“I want you to stay with me … in my home,
away from the distractions here. I know we’ve gotten to know
everything about each other in our dreams, but now I want to feel
it. I want to feel you wrapped in my arms, and know it’s real.”

“Okay,” I breathed. “But I don’t know if I
can trust myself with you.”

He smiled that sinful smile of his and bent
down to kiss me. I opened for him willingly, allowing his tongue to
caress mine. Groaning, I pressed into him harder, making him
tighten his hold around me. I could feel him harden against my leg,
and I ached to feel him again, to seal the bond that we’ve been
meant to fulfill since the beginning of time.

“Drake?” I whispered hoarsely once he
released my lips. He trailed his tongue across my jaw over to my
ear, where he bit lightly on the tender flesh, causing me to
whimper.

“Hmm …”

“We need to get out of here before someone
sees.”

His masculine laugh sounded dangerous in my
ear, sending chill bumps crawling over my skin. In his low, deep
voice he murmured in my ear, “Come on. Let’s get something to eat
and head to my place. You can take a shower there as well, and if
you’re lucky maybe I’ll join you.”

When he pulled back he winked at me and
grinned devilishly. Heat flushed through my body at the thought of
us in the shower together, lathering and washing each other clean.
My body craved him like it craved food and water. How was I going
to handle a whole night alone with him?

“We’ll see,” I teased.

Grabbing my hand, he held it all the way to
the kitchen where we grabbed a couple of plates of food the
brownies had prepared. Once outside, the Summer humidity drenched
my skin, but it didn’t bother me anymore. My blood was changing,
and soon the Summer Court would be my home. I wanted to find
Sarette and talk to her, but I needed this time with Drake.

Once we reached his dwelling, he opened the
door and ushered me inside. His place smelled amazingly like him,
all Summer and pure male. I set my plate on his table and took the
tour of his house, intentionally bypassing his bedroom for the time
being.

When I was done exploring, Drake was waiting
for me and pulled out a chair for me to sit in at the table. “Thank
you,” I said as I sat down. The food smelled amazing and I couldn’t
wait to devour it. “How old were you when you decided to have your
own place? I don’t remember you ever telling me in our dreams.”

He rubbed his chin in concentration and
leaned back casually in his chair. “If I’m not mistaken, I was
seventeen when I came to stay out here. My sisters used to drive me
crazy, especially Calista.”

I smiled thinking about how my brothers
probably got annoyed with me, too. “Out of all your sisters, who do
you mostly relate to?”

“That’s easy … Ariella. Now that she’s older
she’s grown on me. I’ve never seen anyone fluster my warriors like
she does, and for some crazy reason she always knows what I’m
thinking. I’m starting to think she should’ve been my twin instead
of Calista.”

“You have a lovely family. I adore
Meliantha. I felt bad for pushing Kalen to be with Breena after
that horrible mess with the dark sorcerer. I didn’t realize my
friend was a traitorous whore,” I added vehemently.

“Hey,” he said, reaching over to grab my
hand. “You didn’t know, okay? No one blames you for what happened,
and Kalen made his own choice to get involved with Breena.” He
paused for a second and looked around the room. “Do you want some
wine? It’ll probably make your shoulder feel better.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I smiled and
said, “That would be wonderful. I could really use it right
now.”

Drake left to fetch two glasses and a bottle
of the most precious substance in all of the Land of the Fae …
faerie wine. Once the bubbly, blue substance landed in my glass I
took it and downed it in one gulp. “Be careful, Sorcha. I don’t
want you getting drunk and taking advantage of me.”

“I think you got that backward, genius.
Besides, why do I get the feeling you’d like that?”

He smirked seductively and shrugged his
shoulder. We ate in silence, staring at each other the whole time.
His mouth moved gracefully as he chewed his food, and I sat there
mesmerized. Having him in my dreams was one thing, but being with
him in person was another. Drake cleaned our empty plates off the
table and took my hand, lifting me up. We walked down the hallway,
hand in hand, until we reached his bedroom door.

When he opened it, I was amazed to see an
elegant yet masculine set up. Everything was laid out in blues and
gold. Blue was his favorite color and also the one color he loved
seeing me in. Running my hands along his bed, I got a sudden jolt
of jealousy thinking he’d probably had numerous women in that very
room.

“How many women have you had in here?” I
asked bluntly.

Drake came up behind me and wrapped his arms
around me. “None,” he answered gruffly in my ear. “Only you.”

“You expect me to believe that?” I replied,
turning around to face him.

“It’s the truth,” he admitted. “I’ve had
other women, just like you have had other men, but never in this
room, never in my personal space.”

Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided
to ask the question I was too scared to ask him before, for fear of
the answer. “Were you seeing someone during the time of our
dreams?”

He narrowed his eyes at me, but I stood my
ground and kept eye contact, determined to take the answer with
dignity. Thankfully, after only a few seconds he shook his head.
“No, I was not seeing anyone. Once I met you I couldn’t think of
anyone else, and once the dreams started …”

Releasing my held breath, I smiled. “Yeah, I
know what you mean.”

“What about you?” Drake asked darkly. I
could hear the jealousy in his tone because I knew what he was
asking. “Weren’t you seeing Alston at the time? You never dreamed
about me with him in your bed did you?”

“No!” I shrieked. “The night of the Winter
Ball was when I called it off with him. I knew then that my heart
was taken even if I didn’t want to admit it.”

Drake smiled and ran his hands through my
hair. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I want to make love to
you tonight.”

His words made my heart stop in my chest,
and my core to clench with need. I wanted him too, but there could
be consequences to our actions if we sealed our bond. “We don’t
know if I’ll be able to open the magic box to get the scroll out,
Drake. I want to feel you inside me more than anything, but I have
to know that my pure blood will get that scroll out.”